The Detroit Pistons recently resigned Reggie Jackson to a 5-year $80 million dollar contract, something a lot of NBA fans don’t believe he’s worth. Whatever your opinion may be, Head Coach and GM Stan Van Gundy of the Pistons, believes Jackson was essential to the Pistons.
According to NBC Sports Radio, Gundy talked about Jackson’s importance & other teams offers:
“That was a scenario that we couldn’t have happen. That was really the one.
I think all the teams like us would tell you, when you’re a team that’s been battling below .500 for a number of years, the free agent market, quite honestly, is not kind to you.
We couldn’t afford to lose Reggie. So, yeah, that was certainly a big part of our thinking.”
With Jackson, Jennings, Drummond and Stanley Johnson as their core, the Pistons hope to finally get into the Playoffs after a 5+ year drought. Can the Pistons be a Playoff team? It depends on how Jackson and Jennings can work together. It depends on Stanley Johnson’s development as a rookie star in the making. It’s also about Andre Drummond taking the next step. He needs to be an All-star for them to be able to compete.
